Entertainment

Madhur Bhandarkar and Subhash Ghai to participate in a film festival to promote 'Indian-ness'

As many as 160 films will be showcased during the Çhitra Bharati Film Festival, that have been selected out of the 700 entries received from all over the country, says Alok Kumar, Chairman, BCS.

The films to be screened cater to four themes – women, youth, Indian culture and nationalism. The selected entries include short films, documentaries, campus films as well as short animation films, says Kumar, adding that their aim was to offer a platform to films in regional languages and they have largely succeeded in their aim since many of the participating films are non-Hindi and non-English. There will be cash prizes for Best Film, Best Actor (Male and Female) and Best Director. The subjects chosen for this festival are of national and social importance that will encourage young producers and directors to make and submit films of such relevant issues, RSS leader Narender Kumar said, adding that the objective is to create a pool of talent for spreading Indian culture and its richness through movies.

The event will be inaugurated by Union I&B Minister Smriti Irani, while Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu and MoS, I&B, Rajyavardhan Rathore are likely to attend the valedictory session. Those participating in the festival include filmmakers Subhash Ghai and Madhur Bhandarkar, who will be holding two separate masterclasses on The Art of Directing. Actor-turned-politician Manoj Tiwari will be holding a masterclass on acting, while Baahubali scriptwriter KV Vijayendra Prasad will hold a masterclass on his subject. Besides, Babul Supriyo, MoS, Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, who was a playback singer, CBFC chief Prasoon Joshi, actor Jackie Shroff and folk artiste Malini Awasthi will also be part of the event.

Kumar says, “While the festival has been organised by our public charitable trust, we are getting support from everyone. We are sure that after this festival, Indian films will show more Indianness rather than blindly aping Hollywood films.”

The entry fee for the festival has been kept at Rs 300 but it may be waived off for students. Kumar says a highlight of the event is a Kathakali performance on the second day, which is based on the navarasa – the nine human emotions that encompass all expression. A similar film festival was held in Indore two years ago, but at the time, they had received entries from only nine states.